1976 Dodge D100 Pickup Truck - Junkyard Crawl

I'm not usually a fan of pickup trucks-other than as tow vehicles or parts haulers. I definitely prefer to get my kicks in a car. After all, this isn't Truck Craft. But when the truck in question is a 1/2-ton rig with a factory big-block, I'm listening. Unlike 3/4-tonners-which have hefty overkill underpinnings and weird six- or eight-lug wheels, 1/2-ton pickups are much more car-like. That's good. I don't often spout about my junk here, but I bet you'll be surprised to learn Dodge offered the big 440 in dainty 1/2-tonners as well as larger pickups. I was so impressed, I bought the thing. Well, actually I did a trade plus cash. Let's scope it out together.

2/5To most car crafters, the D100's original cast-crank 440 is ripe for picking and swapping. I'm also tempted, but I'll keep this rig intact and use it to pull a car trailer. A Camper Special, it has extra-duty cooling and upsized springs and brakes. A previous owner replaced the stock Carter Thermo-Quad with a 750-cfm Edelbrock Performer four-barrel. The mill runs great but has a leaky driver-side exhaust manifold, and the factory-issue pressure gauge is suspiciously sluggish. There haven't been any ugly noises so far, but I'll throw a high-volume Melling oil pump at it soon and see what happens. The 3.55 Sure Grip 9 1/4 rearend is perfect for burnouts.

•In 1964, Dodge offered the coolest 1/2-ton big-block pickup of them all, the legendary Custom Sports Special (CSS). Along with standard bucket seats and racing stripes (really!), the CSS was available with the 365hp 426 Street Wedge and factory traction bars.